The Bakken Shale remains the nation's preeminent shale oil play. Here are our top picks in this region. Read More

The recent draft issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency may link hydraulic fracturing to groundwater contzmination, but the study is riven with internal inconsistencies and doesn't reflect the situation in the nation's prolific shale oil and gas plays. Don't expect the findings to lead to restrictive regulations on fracturing, especially in the current economic and political climate. Read More

Don't expect the EPA's recent report on hydraulic fracturing and groundwater contaimination to lead to restrictive regulations on this controversial production technique, especially in the current economic and political climate. Investors should continue to focus on our favorite operators in oil-rich unconventional plays. Read More

Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT) was created by Burlington Resources, a company that was subsequently purchased by ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). Roughly 80 percent of the trust’s production comes from the 34,205 net producing acres on the Waddell Ranch property, an area in the Permian Basin of west Texas. Read More

Despite all the headwinds facing the US economy, our nation benefits from one major advantage over other developed nations: lower energy prices. Read More

The market for vessels that carry liquefied natural gas has been the lone bright spot in the seaborne-transport industry this year, thanks to a tightening supply-demand balance and rising day-rates. Read More

Australia’s unconventional-gas boom will provide steady revenue streams for services companies. Read More

Our recent analysis of US oil and gas trusts elicited a flurry of questions from readers about royalty trusts that we hadn't covered. Here' the rundown on four trusts subscribers have asked about. Read More

US oil and gas trusts often offer tax-advantaged yields, but investors must understand how these trusts are structured and the quality of their underlying assets to separate the winners from the losers. In this issue, we analyze four trusts that subscribers have asked about in recent emails and discuss the tax implications of owning these vehicles. Read More

US oil and gas trusts can offer high yields and the potential for significant capital gains. However, not every recently listed income trust is a potential winner. Read More